TSA wait times may not get better any time soon. Here’s what you should know if you’re flying

By Alexandra Skores, CNN

Washington (CNN) — Travelers stuck in line for hours at airport security this week are the latest victims of a partial government shutdown that has dragged on for nearly a month.

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed in mid-February amid a standoff between Republicans and Democrats over immigration reform. Now, Transporation Security Administration screeners are about to miss a paycheck just as the Spring Break travel season heats up.

Here’s what’s going on and when the long lines might go away.

These are the airports being hit the hardest

While most of the more than 430 commercial airports in the US have TSA staff, some locations have seen an outsized impact.

Security lines at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport stretched for more than three hours on Sunday and Monday, the agency reported. The airport was advising passengers to arrive four to five hours before their flights but reduced the recommendation to three to four hours Monday night.

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport said Monday TSA waits can extend up to two hours and advised passengers to arrive at least three hours before their flight. By late afternoon the airport reported wait times of up to an hour and said passengers should arrive at least two hours before their flight.

Other airports that saw long wait times included Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Charlotte Douglas International, and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

Is PreCheck still open?

TSA PreCheck lines remain open at most airports.

The program allows travelers who pass a verification process and pay a fee to go through a quicker security screening. DHS said last month they would be closed due to the shutdown so agents could focus on the standard screening lanes, but the department quickly reversed course.

TSA “will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations” according to staffing changes, a spokesperson for the agency told CNN at the time.

Global Entry, which allows trusted travelers who pay a fee to quickly go through customs, remains closed.

What could be done right now to make this easier for travelers?

Many aviation officials have called on Congress to fund DHS or find a way to pay TSA workers in the interim.

In January, a bipartisan group of 16 House members introduced legislation that would guarantee federal employees, military service members, reservists and contractors get paid in full and on time in the event of a government shutdown, according to the American Federation of Government Employees.

Similar pieces of legislation have been debated in the Senate, but so far, none have become law.

“It seems like (lawmakers) are having a problem doing their job, which is passing funding bill would allow us to be paid,” said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of AFGE TSA Council 100, the union which represents TSA employees. “Congress should make sure that all the TSOs (transportation security officers) are protected.”

Some DHS workers have kept getting paychecks even during this lapse in funding. Sworn law enforcement officers in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Patrol and the Secret Service, as well as Coast Guard military personnel are still being paid. Their salaries are funded by the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” which President Donald Trump signed into law last summer, according to a senior administration official.

It’s not the first time travelers have suffered during a government shutdown

Government shutdowns have often caused delays for air travelers and sometimes their outrage has prompted Congress to take action.

In the 2018 – 2019 shutdown, 10% of TSA workers scheduled to work on a Sunday took the day off, with many employees citing “financial limitations” preventing them from showing up. The resulting security delays, coupled with 10 air traffic controllers in two key locations being absent caused travel gridlock and put pressure on lawmakers who soon passed a short term funding measure.

Late last year, the longest government shutdown on record came to an end after an increasing number of air traffic controllers and TSA screeners did not show up to work.

This partial government shutdown only impacts Homeland Security employees, so workers for other agencies – include FAA air traffic controllers – are still being paid.

What about the TSA workers?

TSA workers make an average salary of $35,000, according to Airlines for America.

“This (shutdown) is a catastrophe for the workforce,” Jones, the TSA union leader, told CNN.

He saw coworkers resort to donating plasma to make ends meet or even faced eviction during the last government shutdown.

During this lapse in funds, many TSA workers are already picking up other jobs, the union said.

“These frontline heroes received only partial paychecks earlier this month and now face their first full missed paycheck, leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages,” said Lauren Bis, a DHS spokesperson, in a statement.

How we got here

Passengers trying to take to the skies – and the people who screen them – are caught in a politically charged fight.

DHS is the last federal agency not funded by Congress for the rest of the fiscal year, which runs until September 30. Instead, a series of short term extensions were approved, but the last one of those – which only provided money for two weeks of operations – ran out nearly a month ago.

In total, about 61,000 TSA employees must keep working during the shutown. Many live paycheck to paycheck, Ha Nguyen McNeill, a senior official performing the duties of TSA administrator, said in written testimony for a House subcommittee hearing before the funding lapsed.

TSA employees received only a partial paycheck on February 28, and will miss their first full paycheck on March 14. As an apparent result, an increasing number of the screeners are taking unscheduled time off.

The congressional sticking point is immigration reform. DHS not only includes TSA, but also over 20 high-profile agencies – including the the Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Senate Democrats called for changes to rules governing immigration enforcement operations after more than a dozen incidents in Minneapolis in January, including two where US citizens were fatally shot. Republicans have resisted the changes

When will it end?

While it’s unclear when the DHS shutdown will end, the union representing TSA employees is not optimistic it will be soon. Congress would need to pass legislation to fund the department and there doesn’t seem to be a deal in sight.

Federal employees are guaranteed to receive back pay once the shutdown ends, according to a 2019 law. When the government reopened after last fall’s funding lapse, workers got their money within several days.

TSA officers who worked throughout that last shutdown were given a $10,000 bonus by DHS for showing up, but it is not clear if that would happen again.

As DHS waits for funding, they also are waiting for a new leader. President Donald Trump fired Secretary Kristi Noem last week and tapped Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her starting March 31.

CNN’s Aaron Cooper and Tami Luhby contributed to this report.

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